October 28, 2012

This is only the first of three pumpkin carvings I plan to do for Halloween this year, but it’s the only one complex enough to deserve its own tutorial. That being said, it’s still pretty simple to do, if not a but time consuming, but I think the results were definitely worth the time put into it. And best of all, it requires very, very little carving skills! Which is good, because I don’t have any. ;)SUPPLIES:

tall pumpkin

knife

large spoon

pen/pencil & paper

tape

scissors

leaves

got glue gun

floral wire

toothpicks

STEP 1: CARVING BASICS
1. cut top // 2. remove guts // 3. sketch design // 4. tape design // 5. trace // 6. carveSTEP 2: ATTACH EARS
I used the triangles that I cut out for the eyes to make the lion’s ears by attaching them to the sides of the pumpkin with toothpicks.STEP 3: ATTACH LEAVES
1. use a small screw driver to drill holes around the face // 2. stick the stems of the leaves through the holes // 3. continue around the entire pumpkin, making 2-3 rows of leaves // 4. stick a piece of floral wire in the hole behind the leaf // 5. use a dab of hot glue to adhere the wire to the leaf (this will allow you to bend the leaves the way you want around the face) // 6. trim any visible stems inside the pumpkinSTEP 4: DISPLAY
I placed more leaves underneath the pumpkin so the mane looked like it went all the way around the lion’s head. You could also glue them to the bottom of you want to really be sure that they’ll stay in place.

October 27, 2012

Here is my second Halloween inspired hair accessory. I’m going to show you two different versions of skeleton hair clips you can make – and they’re so quick and easy that you’ll have no trouble making them in time for Halloween night.SUPPLIES

cardboard

marker

scissors

white craft foam

hot glue gun

hair barrette/bobby pins

VERSION 1: BONE BARRETTE
1. draw a bone on a piece of thin cardboard – you can print a picture from the internet to trace or just free hand it like I did // 2. cut the cardboard bone // 3. trace it onto a piece of white craft foam // 4. cut the foam bone // 5. glue to the top of a barrette // 6. make sure the barrette is open, so it isn’t glued shut – you’ll need to be able to open and close it to wear it!VERSION 2: CROSSBONE BOBBY PINS
Follow the same steps as before, but make the bones thinner and glue them to the tops of bobby pins. I slid a piece of cardboard in the bobby pin while the glue dried so I wouldn’t glue it closed.
Did you know that the flat part of a bobby pin is actually the top? And the ridged side is supposed to go in your hair? Kind of mind blowing, right?
Alternatively, you can also use the pins as a cute accessory for your clothes. Yes, I was wearing shorts in October. We had some crazy warm weather a few days ago.

October 25, 2012

Be honest. Are you at all surprised to see my cat dressed up as The Doctor? Didn’t think so.

STEP 1: MAKE THE FEZ
1. get a dixie cup and red felt // 2&3. glue one edge of the felt to the cup // 4. wrap the felt around the cup // 5. glue edge // 6. trim excess felt
1. put a small line of glue on the edge of the cup // 2. fold a small piece the felt over the edge of the cup // 3. continue around the entire edge // 4. glue & fold the edges over the bottom of the cup (top of the hat) // 5. cut a circle of felt to fit over the bottom of the cup // 6. glue circle to cup
1. poke a hole through the center of the bottom of the cup (top of the hat) // 2. thread a piece of embroidery thread or yarn through the hole and fray the edges
1. thread elastic through once side of the top of the cup (bottom of the hat) // 2. continue to thread through the other side of the cup // 3. knot both ends so the elastic wont come off; leave enough room for it to fit on the cat’s head securely, but comfortablySTEP 2: MAKE THE BOW TIE
1. Cut a long strip of red fabric, twice as long you want the bow to be // 2. glue/hem the long edges // 3&4. glue the ends together // 5. flip right side out // 6. put a dab of hot glue in the center of the seam
1. pinch the center of the fabric into the glue // 2. put a dot of glue near the outside center edge // 3. fold fabric over and glue in place // 4. repeat on other side // 5 cut a thinner strip of fabric and glue/hem the edges // 6. glue the center of the thin strip to the center of the bow // 7. wrap and glue one end; trim excess // 8. wrap and glue the other end; trim excess // 9. BOW!STEP 3: GLUE BOW TO COLLARALL FINISHED!
Now comes the hard part, getting it on the cat. Luckily Hugo was pretty cooperative as long as he could look out the window.

Isn’t he just the cutest! He’s totally ready to go explore all of time and space now.

And just in case you might be thinking that Hugo actually enjoyed wearing this… here’s a funny outtake from our photo shoot.

October 23, 2012

Halloween is almost here! I don’t plan on dressing up too extravagantly for trick-or-treat night, but I still want to wear something festive while I hand out candy.

STEP 1: BEGIN SKETCHING SPIDER WEB
1. trace a circle on the back of the vinyl // 2. trace a smaller circle in the center // 3. draw a star-ish shape in the small circle // 4. connect the points of the stars out to the bigger circle

For some reason, I stopped taking pictures of the drawing process after this point, but it’s not difficult to explain. I just connected the lines that came out from the center with two rows of swooping lines… Maybe that’s not so easy to understand… If not, just google a picture of a spider web and you’ll get the gist of it.STEP 2: CUT OUT SPIDER WEB

Slowly and carefully, trace around the lines with the craft knife.STEP 3: GLUE WIRE TO WEB; GLUE WEB TO HEADBAND

Bend a piece of a floral wire to fit around the outside edge of the web and glue in place. Then glue the whole thing onto the headband. The floral wire helps the vinyl to contour to the shape of your head so there won’t be any awkward pieces poking up out of your hair.STEP 4: WEAR IT!